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Ignorance vs. Know-it-all

yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
Hello,

The thought crossed my mind yesterday, that I have always played Baldur's Gate as ignorant when it comes to game mechanics, how to power up, best locations to hit, useful items etc.

Back in the day (6 CD version) I used to play BG when the paper-and-pen RPG-group were unable to get together to play our usual games. Thus, almost exclusively played (and still play, although forum threads have encouraged me to try new angles) for the roleplay.

I have found this play-style suits me well, but I am curious, if you are the opposite, i.e. Knowing basically everything about the game and its content, what draws you back?

Is it to optimize? Challenge yourself with mathematical odds?

How do you play the game when you know it all, and what then keeps you still interested or amused?

/A.

Comments

  • SirBatinceSirBatince Member Posts: 882
    I would argue the game is more fun when you know what to expect.

    although I am probably biased as I almost exclusively play solo games
  • GallengerGallenger Member Posts: 400
    It depends on how frequently I play. If I let the game sit for for several months I can forget lots of minor details - and still to this day I find something new - or at least that's new to me at the time. If I'm playing the game a bunch, then I just give myself some gimp character and struggle to see if I can get it to work out :D
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Well, I have almost every encounter and major item location memorized. I mostly come back to re experience the story in different ways. Using certain npcs long term when before I only kept them long enough for certain quests. Running new classes and races (I only plated a dwarf for the first time a month or so ago). There is so much to these games that even knowing them mechanically, you can still find new things lore and story wise. I would be surprised if I truly knew all the mechanics as well as I think I do as well.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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  • cherryzerocherryzero Member Posts: 129
    One thing I really enjoyed my first play through of SoD specifically because I really had no idea what was coming next at any given point. Really brought back that fresh experience.
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    Many things mix up the experience by changing some fundamentals like:
    - Mods
    - Protagonist
    - NPC choices (and number)
    - Quest progression (game is quite different if you avoid side quests)
    - house rules (ie no reload)

    Pretty impossible to exhaust every scenario if you mix up some or all of the above variables.

    For example I've just started a female barbarian from BG1. First time using the class in BG and I want to try a CN romanced Anomen in BG2 as something different. I'm also picking other NPCs that I haven't finished the game with for the most part.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    edited September 2016
    i have atlest three playthroughs planned out in my head so far. my cg female elf fighter that will romance xan. my cn f/t that will romance viconia and will be the first time i use safana in bg1. and the so called canon run through but i may romance aerie not jeheria.

    it help that i have like 40 npcs to make parties with. [ 20 from vanilla and 20 npc mods.]. and there are a bunch of quest mods i did not do. like innershade, tales of the deep garden, and reunion which is why i'm also using nalia during the cg run as she is needed to do the quest.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    edited September 2016
    Well, when it comes to Mods I can see where the challenge is, but that also rather makes it a "new" experience.

    I was thinking more of what challenges there were left, if one knows 'how-to' and has an innate 'walk-through' for the whole game (?).

    I still don't know which map areas include which encounters (apart from the main story-line encounters) and this makes each map a challenge.

    I guess having a bad memory serves me well in this instance...

    /A.

    Post edited by yksimalt on
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    What brings me back is the opportunity to rewrite my protagonist's story by trying different things. Sometimes knowing what comes nexxt even helps it.
  • OrlonKronsteenOrlonKronsteen Member Posts: 905
    edited October 2016
    @yksimalt It's not necessarily about challenge, but about aesthetic, atmosphere and the different flavour you get trying different classes, kits, party combos and items.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited October 2016
    Modding. Item randomiser makes every new game different, and scs keeps the challenge up. Also trying new kits/npcs and quest mods make the game feel fresh. I also use dltcep and NI to meticulously edit most every store, item, creature, kit, area, spell to make them different and suit to my tastes/needs.

    For example for this playthrough I created some new cold spells and created a custom sorcerer kit 'frost mage' that gets those spells as bonus, and as disadvantage I never choose fire spells and he has severe penalties to stats (kinda like Avenger kit sans op shapeshifting) I also get surprised on some areas by a monster I placed there months ago and completely forgot. I also make portraits of myself and my loved ones to play with for that extra personal touch. Last but not least, I play on Ipad and it feels so convenient and an easy/fun way to pass time.
  • RawgrimRawgrim Member Posts: 621
    A well written story.

    Being able to use completely different parties

    The game letting me make actual choices. Linear rpgs I only touch once.

    Immersive gameplay, lore, and characters. I play games to disconnect from the real world. Immersion is vital.


    In other words, if I have beaten a game plenty of times....I still enjoy playing the game if it lets me play it differently each time. That way it kind of stays a bit fresh.
  • VoronaVorona Member Posts: 12
    The first time I played Baldur's Gate, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't understand character creation and stats in the sense that I didn't realize that each roll had a different total number of points. So, I rerolled a few times and then distributed points, but I had a really terrible role. Everyone in Candlekeep kept telling me to go see Gorion right away, but I couldn't find him, and I took that seriously, so I was really frustrated. The rats killed me, so I chose not to fight them again, and eventually I found Gorion and left. This was the first of this kind of game I had ever played, so a lot of things people take for granted were things I didn't know about (like finishing all quests in an area before moving on, for example, or getting experience points for killing things/people) and I didn't know that I didn't know them!

    So, from my perspective, total ignorance was not fun at all. I spent most of the time frustrated, irritated, and confused, and eventually restarted shortly after the disaster at the Nashkel mines with much more knowledge.

    Now, I probably know more than I would like to know. I wish I had started with something like Volo's Comeuppance. I like discovering new things, and although obviously some things have been completely spoiled for me, the hows and whys are still somewhat up in the air and I like that. I try to avoid spoilers as best I can, but I know a LOT about the early part of the game (like the hidden rings and the Ankheg armor, etc.) that I wish I could have discovered on my own . . . on the other hand, I probably would not have discovered them at all on my own. I definitely wish I hadn't gone looking for (and finding) what to do with the Golden Pantaloons, though.

    That said, as others have said, the joy in replaying even those parts I already know well comes from trying out different characters and playstyles as well as recruiting different NPCs and re-experiencing the interesting characters and banter in the non-recruitable NPCs (drunks, paranoid guys, etc.). I also really like the music, and I'm sure I will eventually try out mods, which will also vary the experience.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,459
    Even without using mods and the large range of character types and NPCs available there are just so many different challenges you can set yourself, e.g. here's a few of the types of restrictions I've tried completing BG1 under (virtually always on a no-reload basis):
    - not allowing resting
    - not using any equipment
    - not killing anything
    - only allowing killing using melee
    - taking no damage
    - acquiring no XP
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Grond0 said:

    - acquiring no XP

    Unmodded, how is that even possible?
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I don't think it is. You get exp for turning in necessary story quests as well as enemies that must be killed.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,459
    edited October 2016
    JumboWheat01 said:

    Grond0 said:

    - acquiring no XP

    Unmodded, how is that even possible?
    In BG1 the only XP it's necessary to get is a quest reward for the death of Sarevok - to my annoyance you get that whether or not you actually kill him. You can therefore argue that a no-XP run is not technically possible, but you could also rationalise it and say that the game is actually complete fractionally before you are given that quest reward ...

    There are no story quests which have to be done to progress the main quest. There are a few enemies who must die, but you don't have to kill them - other possible tactics for instance are:
    - charm them and let them be finished off by their associates.
    - allow them to damage their associates in area spells and then go invisible, prompting the associate to take revenge.
    - trigger traps (neutral ones, not your own).
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